Affords a holder for use in semiconductor or liquid-crystal manufacturing devices—as well as semiconductor or liquid-crystal manufacturing devices in which the holder is installed—in which temperature uniformity in the processed-object retaining face is heightened. Configuring the holder with, furnished atop a ceramic susceptor, a composite of a ceramic and a metal improves the temperature uniformity in the holder's processed-object retaining face and makes for curtailing the generation of particulates and other contaminants. In addition, putting a coating on at least the retaining face improves the durability of the holder. Installing a holder of this sort in a semiconductor manufacturing device or a liquid-crystal manufacturing device contributes to making available semiconductor or liquid-crystal manufacturing devices whose productivity and throughput are excellent.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A holder for use in semiconductor or liquid-crystal manufacturing devices, comprising: a ceramic susceptor; and a composite of a ceramic and a metal furnished atop said ceramic susceptor, the ceramic-metal composite having a diameter greater than or equal to that of the susceptor, the composite including a mixture of metallic and ceramic constituents, the mixture including metallic microconstituents distributed in a ceramic matrix, the ceramic metal composite further including a retaining face configured to hold either a semiconductor wafer or LCD glass as a processed object; and an electrically resistive heating circuit provided either in the ceramic susceptor, or on a face of the ceramic susceptor opposite the ceramic-metal composite.
2. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the Young's modulus of the ceramic-and-metal composite is 300 GPa or less.
3. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the thermal conductivity of the ceramic-and-metal composite is 100 W/mK or more.
4. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramic-and-metal composite is claim 2 .5×10 −6 to claim 8 .0×10 −6 /° C.
5. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a support part supporting the ceramic-and-metal composite.
6. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a support part supporting the ceramic susceptor.
7. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a support part supporting both the ceramic-and-metal composite and the ceramic susceptor.
8. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a coating is formed on at least a processed-object-retaining side of the holder.
9. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the ceramic-and-metal composite functions as an electrode.
10. A semiconductor or liquid-crystal manufacturing device in which the holder of claim 1 is installed.
11. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein: the metal comprises at least one member of the group consisting of Al, Si, and Cu; and the ceramic comprises at least one member of the group consisting of SiC, Al 2 O 3 , AlN, WC, and BN.
12. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the ceramic-metal composite comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of Al—SiC, Al—Al 2 O 3 , Al—AlN, Si—SiC, Si—Al 2 O 3 , and Si—AlN.
13. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the composite comprises a sintered mixture of metal and ceramic powders.
14. A holder as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the composite comprises metal infiltrated into a porous ceramic substrate.
15. A holder for use in semiconductor or liquid crystal manufacturing devices, the holder comprising: a support structure disposed in a processing chamber, the support structure anchored to a floor of the processing chamber; a ceramic-metal composite provided atop the support structure, the ceramic-metal composite including a substantially uniform mixture of ceramic and metal microconstituents, the ceramic-metal composite further including a retaining face configured to hold either a semiconductor wafer or LCD glass as a processed object; a ceramic susceptor disposed on an underside of the ceramic-metal composite such that the ceramic susceptor does not contact either the support structure or the processing chamber.
16. A holder as set forth in claim 15 , further comprising an electrically resistive heating circuit provided either in the ceramic susceptor, or on a face of the ceramic susceptor opposite from the ceramic-metal composite.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
June 3, 2004
August 19, 2008
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